josh drives in silence the entire way home, still trying to make sense of the night's events.
how did the bar even catch on fire in the first place? why would tyler go with the band in their creepy rape van? how could josh let him? he was clearly not in the right state of mind, but josh just stood there like an idiot and let brendon take his best friend.
he tries to call tyler three times once he's parked safely in his driveway, but they all go straight to voicemail. frantically, josh sends him several texts asking where he is and if he's okay. he begs for tyler to at least let him know he's safe. he paces back and forth outside for a while, hoping the frigid air will calm his nerves. when he still hasn't gotten a response five minutes later, he heads inside.
he's home alone, thankfully, otherwise his mom would be freaking out with him and only making matters worse. he texts tyler again, unable to calm down as he walks in circles around his kitchen island. the guilt won't go away, and it's getting harder to fight back tears, so he decides to call mikey.
he picks up on the second ring. "hey, josh."
"mikey," he breathes, shakily. "oh my god..."
"josh? what's wrong? frank, it's josh. are you okay?"
frank's voice is faint. "what's going on?"
"i-it's tyler... uh, the um, the bar. it caught on fire. fucking flames everywhere, dude. i-i saw so many fucking people burning alive. so many people died. the smell... oh my god."
"what? are you fucking serious? are you okay?"
"do you want us to come over?"
josh ignores their questions. "the band... they took tyler. he was in shock. he didn't, fuck, he wasn't all there. i let them take him."
"wait what?"
"i'm sure he's fine," frank says. "it's tyler. he probably just wanted to get laid."
"no," josh furrows his brows, heading up to his room and finally sitting down. he places his head in his hands, his friends' voices ringing out through the phone's speaker.
"should we come over? or i can pick you up?" mikey offers.
"no," josh repeats. "you guys, i... we fucking watched people die. get fucking trampled a-and burned alive and... holy shit. i'm so worried about tyler. those guys in the band, they were fucking disgusting. like, i heard them saying nasty things about tyler. and he's not answering my texts."
"probably because he's getting laid," frank says again.
josh groans, growing angry. "you don't get it, do you? i know something bad is going to happen to him. i-i have to do something. we have to go find him."
"how the fuck are we going to find him?"
"fuck!" josh yells. "i don't know. i shouldn't have let him go."
"it's not your fault, josh," mikey says softly.
"yeah, i'm sure tyler is fine. really. he can handle himself."
the doorbell sounds suddenly, causing josh to jump. "what the fuck? somebody is here."
"who would be there this late at night?"
"cops maybe?"
"i don't know. i'm home alone. i'm fucking freaking out."
josh slowly makes his way downstairs towards the front door, cautiously peeking out the window. he doesn't see anything, so he opens the door and steps onto the porch. there's nobody in sight.
"okay, well nobody is here. what the fuck? am i going crazy?"
"dude, a lot of traumatic shit happened to you tonight. you probably are going crazy."
"don't listen to him," mikey mutters. "you should just try to get some rest, josh. tyler is fine, i'm sure. you'll see him tomorrow at school and he'll tell you all about his night."
"yeah, maybe you're right." he heads back inside and shuts the door, checking twice to make sure it's locked. "i'm gonna go. i'll see you guys tomorrow."
just as they say their goodbyes and josh hangs up, he hears a rhythmic thumping coming from down the hallway. he stands perfectly still, frozen with chills as goosebumps cover his arms. that can't be in his head, right? what the fuck is it?
he tiptoes down the hallway, slowly, the noise growing in volume the closer he gets to the kitchen. maybe it's some kind of animal. like a mouse... yeah. or maybe a raccoon.
josh takes a deep breath to brace himself before slowly peeking his head into the kitchen. it's empty. no animals, no people. the only sound he's able to pick up on is the water dripping from the faucet of the kitchen sink. he exhales a sigh of relief, feeling like a fucking moron for being so scared. he quickly closes the distance to the sink, the faucet creaking as he forcefully turns it off all the way.
he turns to head back to his room, but is met with an appalling sight. tyler stands before him, soulless gaze piercing josh's soul and mouth curled into a tight-lipped grin. he's absolutely covered head-to-toe with bright red blood. it leaks from his nose, trails from the corners of his mouth, and drenches his clothing. josh can't help the frightened yelp that erupts from him, hands clamping over his mouth to suppress the urge to scream.
what the fuck happened to him? is that his blood? is it someone else's? the coppery stench is repulsive; josh's stomach clenches as he holds back from gagging. tyler just stands there with a vacant stare as the smile grows, revealing bloody teeth. it takes everything in josh to let his hands fall from his mouth.
"tyler," he whispers.
the boy doesn't respond. he turns, smile still planted on his face, and heads for josh's fridge. josh watches in confusion as he rummages through its contents, ultimately grabbing a roast chicken and dropping it to the floor. josh approaches slowly, nose scrunched in disgust as tyler bends over the chicken and begins eating it with his hands like some kind of animal.
he slowly kneels beside tyler. "um... are you okay?"
tyler's mouth falls open as an inhuman screech pierces josh's ears, the roar rumbling every bone in his body. his hands clamp back over his open mouth, a chill running down his spine. what the actual fuck was that? he's never heard a sound like that ever in his life. every part of him is screaming for him to flee, but he has already abandoned his friend once tonight and he clearly needs help right now.
he's silent, listening to gags and gasps come from his friend. he starts to think tyler might be choking or something until he starts retching, and then josh thinks the smell of the blood must have gotten to him too. that is, until thick, black bile spills from his mouth in a projectile, shooting all over the kitchen floor and coating josh's legs. it's hot and emits a putrid stench even more horrible than the blood, similar to sulfur and decay.
"holy fuck!" josh screams, quickly standing and backing away from the growing mess. the liquid comes out in a steady stream for what feels like minutes but can't be more than a few seconds, all while josh watches with wide eyes.
once it stops, that dreadful smile returns to tyler's lips and he starts chuckling. josh doesn't know what exactly is going on, but it's clear that he needs some kind of fucking medical attention or something. he cautiously approaches tyler, kneeling beside him and grabbing his shoulders. tyler won't stop laughing no matter how hard josh shakes him.
"tyler! tyler! oh my god. oh fuck. oh my god."
he can't take the smell anymore, choking back a mouthful of vomit. he needs to get the fuck out of that room.
he starts down the hallway, hands trembling as he unlocks his phone to call for help. as he's about to finish dialing 911, a sudden force grabs him by the shoulders and shoves his back against the wall. he drops his phone, all color draining from his face as tyler's hands snake up his torso and tightly grip the outside of his shirt. what the fuck? what the fuck is going on?
tyler leans against him, pressing their bodies together. he places blood-stained lips to his ear and tender fingers against his throat as he whispers, "are you scared?"
josh nods, a hot tear sliding down his cheek. he is fucking scared shitless. whatever the fuck is happening right now, this is not tyler. josh knows tyler would never shove him around like that. he'd never be touching him like this.
he hears a breathless chuckle come from the boy, immobilized by terror as he feels lips press against his neck. tyler bites his neck ever-so-slightly, a funny feeling accompanying it in josh's stomach. he's dreamt about having tyler's lips attached to his neck, but not like whatever the fuck this is.
he's pushed off his feet unexpectedly, landing on his ass with a thud. he stares at tyler in horror as the boy starts backing away towards the front door, his own eyes wide now as if he's just snapped out of an unconscious daze and realized what he's done.
"tyler!" josh calls out for him as he opens the door, but he leaves without any hesitation.
with no more distractions, josh finally erupts in a fit of sobs. he buries his face in his hands, chest heaving and shoulders shaking uncontrollably with the force of each desperate gasp for air. he doesn't even know how to begin processing what the fuck just happened to him. he's overwhelmed with the amount of bloodshed and carnage he's seen tonight—more than he ever thought possible.
after a few minutes of his sob session, he's snapped out of it when the odor from the kitchen smacks him in the face. he gags reflexively, furiously wiping his eyes and lifting his shirt to cover his nose. he stands slowly, as if he's afraid any sudden movement is going to get him killed next, and shuffles into the kitchen.
the scene before him is exactly as he left it; a repugnant pool of black bile and pieces of roasted chicken cover the tiled floor. he gags at just the sight, remembering the reason his legs are wet is because that fucking hot liquid was projectile vomited all over them. the thought gets pushed to the back of his head as he lets himself dissociate from the world around him.
none of that actually just happened. no way. he has to be dreaming. he'll clean up the mess and then go to bed and everything will be back to normal in the morning. yeah, that's right. he likes the sound of that. him and tyler will laugh about this tomorrow.
so, he grabs cleaning supplies from under the sink. he gets to work carefully cleaning up the horrific scene, refusing to let his mind wander to anything other than the task at hand. he's too afraid to admit that maybe this isn't all a dream, because what exactly would that mean? that tyler is something other than human? impossible. there's no logical explanation, so surely it can't be real life.
when the kitchen is spotless and smelling a whole lot better (and he throws away his pants), josh convinces himself it never even happened in the first place. he repeats in his head over and over that he's just dreaming, even as he slides into bed in just his boxers and curls up with a pillow.
it's just a dream.
tyler is fine.
he's fine.
he's dreaming.
it was all just a dream.
right?